Heralding Forth the New Dawn
by Seamichus
Summary: A series of stories spanning from the pilot to the Season Five finale that follow each episode. Seamus-centric. Eventual Slash. Seamus/Tyr and eventually Seamus/Rhade. Spoilers are inevitable!
1. An Affirming Flame

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

"An Affirming Flame"

* * *

The Andromeda Ascendant was as beautiful as the day she'd first been commissioned, which was astounding considering all the battle she'd seen in the last few hours, or to be more exact - three hundred years. For Dylan and his ship they'd only sustained the outer hull damage within the last day, while to anyone else who knew _any_ thing about history it was well over three centuries.

Harper found it eerie fixing fried conduits that still smoked from weapons fire that had been sustained by Dylan's first officer. He found it even more unsettling watching Dylan lead a small funeral several hours later for a crewman he'd never met. But he remembered Beka searching for his pulse and remarking that he was still warm.

A kid went to school and learned time was linear and there were no exceptions; everything aged at the same pace and you couldn't escape your own death. Well, maybe it wasn't school where Harper learned that - it could have been anywhere in the galaxy (he'd been to a hundred different stations and planets before Beka discovered him) but the fact remained that up until this day he'd never seen any exceptions. None. Nadda. Zip. You're born, you get old, you die. Sometimes you died young and skipped the second step altogether. But you certainly never preserved yourself within the outer orbit of a black hole.

"You haven't said a single word in over an hour." Beka commented as they left the hanger where the funeral had taken place. "If I didn't know any better I'd think there was something wrong with you. _Is_ there something wrong with you?"

"Me? Nah." Harper replied with an exaggerated flip of his hand. "Just think'n bout this 'n that and the other thing and have you _seen_ how incredible this ship is? Really truly seen? She's a beauty! A heavenly goddess!"

His rant did what he'd expected it to. Beka nodded and quickly changed course to intercept Trance, leaving him once more to his thoughts. It was true, Andromeda was his dream come true. He very nearly drooled from anticipation of exploring every nook and cranny. He'd never been more enthusiastic about repairing damage than he was now, and yet an idea was forming in his head that somehow won priority over everything else. What better way to celebrate his new home than to commemorate it by building a toy for the ship's AI?

"Boy what are you smiling at?"

Harper's focus went from mentally compiling materials he'd need for his project to the giant Nietzschean standing beside him. Tyr Anasazi had the amazingly simple yet incredibly frustrating talent to scare the living crap out of Harper at any given moment. His dislike for anything Nietzschean withstanding, Tyr was larger and scarier than most and most definitely less friendly.

"Ah um-" Harper's tongue refused to cooperate, mostly to the fact he wasn't sending it any single message. It as well as most of his brain was pretty sure that any thing he said would be misinterpreted and turned against him.

Tyr raised his arm threateningly and Harper flinched away, eyes screwed shut in anticipation of the blow, but when it didn't come he quickly peeked and found he was alone once again in the hallway. His face burned from embarrassment.

"Jerk." Harper grumbled. 'Forget him', said the voice in his head, 'let's go explore the ship and find what you need for your project!'

Harper was more than happy to do that. With all the toys aboard Andromeda, it'd be easier than breathing to forget Tyr's uncomfortable presence.


	2. To Loose the Fateful Lightning

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

"To Loose the Fateful Lightning"

* * *

"Young man, why are you following me?" Harper could almost hear Tyr's teeth grind with barely contained rage.

"Because I thought it would be fun to annoy you at a distance?" He replied with a nervous grin.

"Do you really think that's a wise decision?"

He could see Tyr's eyes calculating the distance between them. Harper had been relying on the assumption that Tyr wouldn't go through the effort of reaching him, but suddenly wondered if he'd misjudged the Nietzschean.

A moment of silence stretched between them before something very unexpected happened. Tyr laughed.

The sound should have relieved Harper but instead it made him more nervous than ever. Maybe it was intended to sound happy, but the laugh definitely sounded crazy. 'Just like a Nietzschean' He told himself.

"Do you want to ask me a question?" Tyr asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you do you best get on with it before I lose all patience and climb up there."

Harper didn't think he wanted to ask Tyr any questions, but he sure as hell didn't want Tyr climbing into his air duct to strangle him.

He quickly dug through the recent events fresh on his mind and picked the first thing that came to him. "Those kids back there at the station..."

Tyr's eyes narrowed very slightly. "What of them?"

Harper wanted to know what had truly compelled him to find Tyr in the first place when he had so many better things to be doing, but he realised it was the first night he didn't have Rommie to work on. Was that it? Could it be that simple? 'Yes it can be.' The voice said. 'Because if it isn't you have to figure out why you'd _want_ to talk to him. Now think of something fast before he eats you alive!'

"Would you have trained them if Dylan let you?"

Tyr's expression remained carefully neutral. "Survival is dependant upon preparedness. If one does not know how to properly defend himself, he is as good as dead."

Harper thought he saw something in Tyr's expression. No, he didn't think - he was quite certain. Tyr was directing his statement entirely at Harper rather than speaking about the children they left behind. "You think I'm not prepared enough?"

"You ask me." Tyr replied coolly. "Do you seriously think if a Nietzschean attacked, or a Magog for that matter, you would be able to defend yourself? Those children could run circles around you."

"Hey," Harper frowned. "I'm not weak. I've got years on them in the brains department and you may not think it's very helpful in a battle, but trust me - technology can be a weapon if it has to be. _If_ you know how to use it, which I _do_."

Tyr simply shrugged. "Believe what you will. One day you will find out if your theory is true."

Harper bit back an insult he wanted to say and waited to see what Tyr would do next.

The Nietzchean gave him one more analytical look before walking in the opposite direction he'd come.

"Me? Not tough?" Harper crossed his legs beneath him and pouted at the spot Tyr had been standing. "As if."

'You didn't see that conversation coming?' The voice asked oh so un-helpfully.

"I don't wanna hear it." Harper told the wall. He sighed and retreated along the crawl space. Maybe he would bug Trance instead - just until he thought up a new project to work on or Andromeda received new damage for him to fix. 'Or maybe you'll go and argue with Tyr again, that's a _great_ idea' he thought sarcastically.

Yeah, he definitely needed a new distraction.


	3. D Minus Zero

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

"D Minus Zero"

* * *

Med Deck was SO BORING. By the end of his first day there Harper wanted nothing more than to drag himself away to the relative comfort of one of Andromeda's hanger decks. But he hadn't felt good enough to attempt it. His lungs were still itchy and Trance was certain he still had a temperature.

So he waited. And waited... and _waited_. Time ticked by, Trance left to check her plants (promising to be back soon) and he began to tap an impatient beat on the side of his deck bed.

"Andromeda, what time is it?" He asked the ceiling since it seemed the most reasonable place to direct his question, and a moment later he was rewarded with the ship's voice.

"Five minutes after the last time you asked me. Get some sleep Harper."

"Yeah, sleep." Harper rolled his eyes at the light fixture above his bed. This wasn't his idea of a relaxing location. "Why don't you sing me to sleep. You know some Earth songs don't you?"

Andromeda's ever so patient voice answered him yet again. "Harper you wont fall asleep if you keep talking. Perhaps after you're feeling better you can program some songs into the android you built for me."

Harper grinned. Why hadn't he thought of that? Sure Andromeda was just trying to get him to shut up and she didn't expect him to go through with it, but why not? He bet she had a great singing voice.

"Now get some sleep." Andromeda reminded him.

"Yeah sure, _mom_."

Harper sighed and shifted to find a more comfortable position on the med bed. He thought he had one for a second, but it quickly made itself known that his lower back wasn't too fond of it. One more position and still no more relief.

"That's it." Harper sat up, waited for the room to stop spinning, then swung his legs over the side. Sure he felt like crap and was most likely going to fall one or two times along the way, but he was not going to sleep successfully in here. If Trance and Andromeda wanted him to get better, he was going to do it in his own quarters.

"Harper, what are you doing?" Andromeda's voice followed him out into the hallway.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked with a frustrated wag of his hand. "I'm going to my room. I can't sleep in there, it's too clean!"

"It's a Med Deck, Harper. They're supposed to be sterile. Do I have to contact Dylan or are you going to listen to me?"

"Look," Harper leaned against a wall to keep his balance and cast an irritated look at the hologram that appeared beside him. "If I'm going to get better, it's not going to be from a good night's rest in Med Deck. I'm going to _my_ bed. Do you have a problem watching me from there?"

Andromeda's hologram looked thoughtful. "I suppose not. But if you don't go to bed when you reach your quarters I'm going to send for reinforcements to drag you back to my Med Deck."

Harper saluted her. "Aye aye captain."

The hologram flickered off and Harper returned to the task of dragging himself along the hallway.

He'd made it a few more corridors when his lungs rebelled and left him hacking into the back of his arm. 'Stupid, stupid radiation.' He griped silently.

"What are you doing out of Med Deck?"

Harper glanced up and found Tyr only a step away, giving him that analytical look he always had at the ready. Harper must have stumbled across him as the Nietzschean was returning from one of the hanger decks.

"Doctor said I could sleep in my quarters tonight."

Tyr crossed his arms and stared at him. "Did the doctor also say 'feel free to relapse along the way'?"

Harper scowled and crossed his arm in a mimicking gesture. "I'm not relapsing. I'm clearing my throat. And since when is it your problem what I'm doing?"

"I do not want blame to fall on me for letting you get past when you're obviously sneaking out."

Harper's scowl turned into a look of indignation. "No one is _sneaking_. I'm going to my quarters. Isn't that _right_ Andromeda?"

The hologram returned with a mild look of annoyance. "Harper I have better things to do than answer you every time you feel like talking."

Harper gestured between her and Tyr. "Then tell him what you told me."

She sighed. "Harper is allowed to return to his quarters on the condition that he gets some sleep."

"See??" Harper shot Tyr an annoyed look of his own. "Now if you don't mind, I'll leave you to your _own_ sneaking." He of course, was referring to Tyr coming from one of the hanger decks at an odd time of the night. What _was_ he doing down there anyway?

Tyr remained in his spot, refusing to move. Harper found his rebellion more than a little annoying.

"Do you _mind_?" He made small shooing motions with his hands.

"Tyr if you don't mind, would you please escort Harper to his quarters?"

Harper cast a look of dismay at the hologram. How could she betray him like that? Didn't she think he could walk by himself? And why'd she ask _Tyr_ out of all people to be a babysitter?? He glanced at the unmovable Tyr and hoped he would turn her request down. That's what he did after all- refuse to do the down right stupid.

Tyr's expression didn't change. It was as unreadable as ever. "As you wish."

Harper felt his jaw drop. "What?"

"Hop to it, _boy_." Tyr gestured down the hallway Harper had been heading toward. "Or do you want me to carry you?"

Harper's face burned from embarrassment. "_No_ I don't want you to _carry_ me. And I don't need you babysitting me either." He glared at Andromeda's hologram but she ignored the look completely and disappeared.

With a heavy sigh Harper resigned himself to his unwelcome company and followed the Nietzschean- close enough not to draw complaints of being too slow, but far enough to keep out of arm's reach. He still didn't like Tyr- he was too big and closed up. Tall silent types were by nature untrustworthy people. Harper never knew what their true agenda was.

They traveled in silence for a few minutes, minutes that seemed to drag on and weigh heavily on Harper's shoulders. He was exhausted by the time they reached the hallway that housed his living quarters.

He staggered to the doorway and it opened with a whoosh of cool inviting air and he leaned against the frame.

Tyr hadn't left nor had he said anything. He stood just behind Harper with his heavy Nietzschean gaze boring into his shoulders.

Harper turned in the doorway and met it with his own. He still couldn't understand a single thing behind it. "Thanks." It was a reluctant thank you, but a thank you none the less. There was no point in drawing unnecessary aggression for under-appreciating Tyr's services.

"Get some sleep." Tyr's voice startled Harper, much like his laugh had only a week earlier. It was soft and almost kind. And _those_ two words weren't _ever_ used to describe Nietzscheans. They shouldn't have been useful to describe Tyr Anasazi either, and yet Harper couldn't think of anything to replace them with.

Harper nodded slowly, afraid Tyr could read his thoughts as plain as day, then turned away and entered his quarters, letting the door close behind him. What was Tyr's game? Why was he his usual unlikable self one minute and...and, almost _nice_ the next? 'Tyr? Nice? Oh Harper you're losing your mind.'

Maybe he was. It'd been a long two days. Maybe if Harper got some sleep, he'd wake up the next day and realise he'd dreamt the whole exchange. That thought compelled him to his bed and he collapsed on the soft welcoming covers. He was most definitely delusional. He would discover that after a long night's rest.


	4. Double Helix

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

"Double Helix"

* * *

Tyr was bothering Harper more than usual and _that_ in itself was a conundrum because Tyr always bothered Harper on some level. He was either too tall, too quiet, too loud or too violent. Pick one and you usually had it right. He changed far too often as far as Harper was concerned.

Harper understood Beka, he understood Trance (she was an enigma, yeah, but she was sweet and dedicated to her job and he usually wasn't surprised by what she did), heck he even knew Dylan and Rev pretty well too. Harper was proud of that knowledge.

He always set out to know his companions. Taking them for granted had landed Harper in heaps of trouble with previous partnerships.

So yeah, after everything that went down with the space pirates, Tyr was REALLY starting to get on his nerves. His pet projects were suffering because of it.

Harper swore when the engine he was working on sparked and began to smoke. He tossed his tools aside and grabbed an extinguisher.

As he put it out Rommie entered the hanger.

"Are you trying to burn my ship from the inside out?" She asked with mild amusement.

"Sorry Rom doll." Harper said weakly. He felt stupid for letting his thoughts distract him from something as simple as plugging power cords into their respective places.

"Is something bothering you?" Ah Rommie, always on top of things.

"Nah." Harper sat the extinguisher down and leaned against his work bench. There was no point in hiding anything from her, she clearly didn't believe him.

Harper rubbed his neck thoughtfully. "It's just Tyr."

Rommie gave his latest project a cursory look. "What about Tyr is bothering you?"

"Oh I don't know." Harper said, wagging his hand at her airily. "Maybe it's how he scares the bajeezes out of me sometimes, or how I never know what he's thinking, or how he's always so high and mighty or how he knows just what to say to piss me off or-"

"I think I get your point." Rommie said, wisely cutting him off.

"What's _with_ that guy? He's a frig'n jerk sometimes."

"Harper, not everyone can be as pleasant as you."

It was flattery meant to calm him, and it was doing its job. He heaved a frustrated sigh. "Thanks Rommie." He gave her what he hoped was an appreciative smile then turned back to his failed project. He glared at its fried connectors and scowled. "I just don't get him. He's been... _nice_ to me."

"Nice?" Harper detected a hint of surpise in Rommie's tone.

"Yeah, _nice_." He said, turning to her once more. His engine was a failure- staring at it would just ruin his mood even more.

"Are all Nietzscheans this annoying?"

"If it's bothering you that much Harper, maybe you should go talk to him."

Rommie obviously had a screw loose. Talk? Like _that_ would work.

"Thanks Rommie," Harper held his arms up dismissively. "But I think we'll just live in our own two little worlds where he complains about bad genetics and growls at everything and I stick with my projects and fixing you up nice and neat."

Rommie gave him a scrutinizing look. "Yes and how is that working out for you?"

Harper scowled again.

"All I am saying," Rommie stated carefully, "Is that if there is something on your mind it may distract you from your responsibilities."

Harper closed the distance between them and planted both hands on her shoulders. "Rommie, Rom doll... That wont happen, so don't worry your pretty little head." The last thing he wanted was her informing Dylan that he had a problem, because it really seriously was _not_ that big. He just felt like it was sometimes.

"I'm just having an off day." He added.

She nodded slowly. "My advice still stands but I'll leave it up to you."

She excused herself and left Harper to his thoughts.

'Yeah,' He silently agreed. 'Tyr's really getting on my nerves but maybe I'm letting him. If I keep busy and stop dwelling on things I can't control, I wont get so distracted.'

He eyed the mess he'd made with the small engine and started compiling a list in his mind of parts he needed to fix the damage.

Both he and Rommie were worrying too much about something unimportant.

Maybe Tyr would be the one person Harper never truly understood, but that wasn't a bad thing. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realised he _understood_ Tyr if only in the slightest of ways. How else would Harper know he was unpredictable?

"Predictably unpredictable!" He declared to the empty hanger. He mentally congratulated himself on reaching his conclusion and began picking out the ruined wiring.


End file.
